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You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Exotic Pets > Hermit Crabs > Dead Crab?
Expert: Vicki O'Donnell
Date: 7/23/2008
Subject: Dead Crab?
Question
We bought 2 hermit crabs 3 days ago and one is a little smaller & has been shy about coming out of it's shell. It was still moving some this morning but this evening when I picked it up to try & coax it out its big claw fell off. I left it alone for a while & then went back to check on it a couple of hours later. I thought maybe if I touched the tips of its legs into the water it might give me a sign of movement but when I did this almost all the legs came off & still no other movement. I can see its eyes & antenas but nothing is moving. I'm pretty sure it is dead but since it is still down in its shell I wasn't sure how to tell.
Answer
If you still have the crabs BP, can you see if it's hollow or solid? To do this you will need to squish it.
If it's hollow it's his exoskeleton and that means he molted. If it's solid he dropped his legs, probably due to stress, and you need to leave him alone. Place food and water right next to him since most of his legs fell off.
For the first month or so when you get a new crab, it's best to not handle them. They need time to destress and some crabs will bury to do this.
For more information on hermit crabs or molting, please feel free to visit this website.
www/hermitcrabaddiction.net/forum
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